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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

Dear devotees,

The following is entirely adiyEn's interpretation
and is not based on any acharyas vyakhyanams or
position. So kindly forgive my transgression if
you choose to read forward.


The question arose out of the pasuram Thiruvaymozhi
7.1.6 and then moved on to other areas (of who nithya
sUris are and their differences with other devas etc).

adiyEn will fall back to the original question.

The pasuram in question is:

viNNuLAr perumARkadimai seyvAraiyum seRum aimpulan ivai
maNNuL ennaip peRRAl en seyyAmaRRu nIyum vittAl?
paNNuLAy! kavi thannuLAy! paththiyinuLLAy! paramIsanE
vandhen kaNNuLAy! nenjchuLAy! solluLAy! onRu sollAyE

Here the original question was on, who is meant by 
the term 'viNNULAr' and if they are vaikunta vAsi's 
how is that they are they affected by the five senses?

I think instead of looking at the one line alone,
one needs to look at the thrust of the whole pasuram.

First, can the viNNuLArs be anyone other than 
vaikunta vAsis? Without going into the vyakhyanam,
I think we can say that they are indeed that, based
on the next qualification given - 'perumARkku adimai
seyvAr'. It is highly doubtful that Azhvar would
qualify beings from any other lOka with that
adjective. Because, if one allows that for other
lOkas then we too could stake claim to that - true
kainkarya paras. And we all know how absurd that 
would be. 

Let's look at another pasuram: "viNNuLAr viyappa
vanthu Anaikku anRu aruLai Intha kaNNaRAy!". Here
too, the viNNuLArs are said to be those in parama
padam.

A different term used: "vAnuLAr aRiyalAgA vAnavA".
Here too the vAnuLArs are said to be those in
Sri Vaikuntam.

Why? Because, the push behind all this is the fact 
that everyone of Azhvars words - in fact, the thrust 
of our entire sampradhayam - is the glorification of 
Lord Sriman Narayana. To say that some devas in
other lOkas do not realize the Lord is to say 
nothing. It is stating the obvious. It is when we 
say that even those in paramapadam do not 
understand Him or cannot fathom His acts, that 
we tend to somewhat realize the grandeur and 
greatness of the Lord.

So, with that viewpoint, let's look at the pasuram
in question.

If Azhvar mentioned that pull of the senses on some
devas in some lOkas, which is an expected feature,
then the pasuram loses its full point. This is
neither satisfactory from a philosophical sense
nor is it satisactory from a poetic sense.

However, if we were to say that even paramapada
vAsis are potential targets to these five senses,
then what chance do we, who are in this world, 
stand against them - if He does not come to our
aid ('nIyum vittAl')? Now, our total incapacity 
to save ourselves and our total dependency on the
Lord is made clear.

The question, then, is, are the beings there truly
targets to the 'aimpulan' and if so, how does it
work with what the Vedas say.

One way we can reconcile this is that it is poetic
exaggeration. One made to bring the immensity of
our dependency on Him.

However, if we look at Mumukshuppadi, perhaps we
can get a clue. Pillai Lokachariar does point
out 'kankaryaththil kaLai'. He says that a 'virOdhi' 
to even mukthAthmas exists. And when a virOdhi
exists, it means that they are swayed by something.
Perhaps, they are not the same five senses to which 
we are subject. Nevertheless, there is something 
that can possibly move them out of their true 
nature of service to Him for His pleasure only.

Why would such a virOdhi exist? Perhaps it does to
distinguish us from Him. He has no virOdhis and has
no desires. However, we do have one desire 
("kaNNanukkE Amathu kAmam") and we do have a 
virOdhi to our service. I may be wrong - but I 
don't think that there is any pramANam for this in 
the Vedas either.

Finally, one thought. In our sampradhayam, one does
not look for pramANams for Azhvars words. It is
Azhvars words themselves that are pramANam; just 
like the Vedas. They are indeed the Thamiz Vedham. 
Due to His infinite and unconditional grace, they 
have been blessed with unique vision and knowledge 
('mayarvu aRa mathi nalam aruLap peRRavarkaL'). 
There are many stories and characters in Azhvars 
works which do not find a place in any known purANa 
or itihAsa. Nevertheless we accept them as divine 
visions seen by Azhvars; no less than what Valmiki 
Bhagavan saw. It is in this vein that we have to 
treat Azhvars words.

Once again, adiyEn seeks the forgiveness of the
devotees for any and all transgressions made in
the above statements.

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan




                
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